[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 26




UNITED KINGDOM:

A third of Tory MPs want to bring back the death penalty



1/3 of Tory MPs support the reintroduction of capital punishment in the UK, 
Yahoo News can reveal.

An exclusive poll of MPs carried out by YouGov found that 18% of Conservative 
MPs strongly support bringing back the death penalty and 13% somewhat support 
doing so.

The poll has shocked activists, who have condemned MPs for “hankering after the 
return of a grotesque and cold-blooded ritual”.

Not a single Labour MP said they support bringing back capital punishment.

In November, Conservative MP John Hayes urged the Government to consider 
bringing back hacking for perpetrators of violent crimes in response to the 
Westminster Bridge attacked carried out by Khalid Masood.

Mr Hayes said the option “should be available to the courts” in cases such as 
Masood’s, and it would have been “appropriate” to hang him if he had survived 
the attack.

Amnesty International condemned the MPs who support the reintroduction of the 
death penalty.

Commenting on the poll, Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK’s Director, told 
Yahoo: “The vast majority of countries in the world have stopped using the 
death penalty in recognition of its cruelty and the ever-present danger of 
miscarriages of justice.

“We would urge any MP still hankering after a return of the grotesque ritual of 
cold-bloodedly condemning people to be hanged to consult our latest global 
report on the death penalty.

“It shows in case after case how people around the world are still being 
sentenced to death arbitrarily, after unfair trials - sometimes involving false 
confessions - and even for political reasons.

“Do we really want the UK to join China, Saudi Arabia and Iran in the dwindling 
band of countries that still execute their citizens?

“The death penalty is a cruel relic of the past and there should be no place 
for it in the modern world.”

The last execution in the UK took place in 1964 when Gwynne Evans and Peter 
Allen were hanged for murder.

The Government’s policy is to oppose the reintroduction of the death penalty.

The most recent official briefing paper, published in 2015, says: “It is the 
longstanding policy of the UK to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances 
as a matter of principle.

“There is a growing international momentum towards abolition of the death 
penalty - in the past two decades we have seen a significant rise in the number 
of countries becoming abolitionist, and we are keen to see this trend 
continue.”

YouGov’s most recent poll of the public, carried out in 2014, found 45% of 
Brits support the reintroduction of the death penalty.

(source: Yahoo News)








INDIA:

HC upholds death sentence for murder of family



The Punjab and Haryana high court has upheld death sentence of Fatehgarh Sahib 
resident for killing 4 members of a family, including 2 children, in 2004.

The convict, Khushwinder Singh, had killed Kulwant Singh (40), his wife Harjit 
Kaur (38), their daughter Ramandeep Kaur (16) and son Avrinder Singh (14) in 
June 2004 by pushing them into the Sirhind canal.

Khushwinder had revealed details of the 2004 murders during interrogation after 
his arrest for murders of another 6 people in similar fashion in 2012. He is 
already on death row for the 2012 murders.

“The present case falls within the ambit of rarest of rare cases. The appellant 
has killed 4 persons, including 2 minor children. Whether the extreme penalty 
of death sentence is to be awarded, a balance sheet of aggravating and 
mitigating circumstances has to be drawn up,” said the high court division 
bench, comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill, after 
dismissing the appeal filed by Khushwinder challenging his death sentence.

The high court said the prosecution has proved its case against the appellant 
beyond reasonable doubt and the trial court had correctly appreciated the oral 
as well as documentary evidence.

“The case though based on circumstantial evidence, the chain is complete. The 
motive attributed to the appellant is that he wanted to grab money of Kulwant 
Singh, who had recently sold land. The appellant had taken Kulwant and his 
family to Bhakra canal on the pretext of receiving blessings from some “Baba.” 
He pushed them into the canal on June 3, 2004 while they were offering prayers. 
Bodies of Kulwant and his daughter Ramandeep were recovered. However, the 
bodies of his wife and son were never recovered,” the high court observed while 
upholding the sentence.

Special CBI court in Mohali had on August 28, 2018 ordered that Khushwinder 
should be hanged by the neck till he is dead for the murders and imposed a fine 
of Rs 10,000 on him.

(source: The Times of India)

*******************************

HC sends death penalty ruling back to trial court



3 years after a Thane cour awarded death penalty to a man for raping and 
murdering a 7-year-old girl, the Bombay High Court Thursday remanded the case 
back to it on account of procedural lapses.

A bench of justices B P Dharmadhikari and P D Naik set aside the trial court's 
order awarding Atul Rama Lote death penalty Thursday.< P> It remanded the case 
back to the trial court, asking it to reconsider the facts and evidence and 
decide whether to hold a retrial or proceed anew from the stage of framing of 
charges -- when procedural lapses were committed.

On September 28, 2016, the Thane court awarded Lote death sentence. He was 
accused of abducting, raping and killing the minor daughter of an acquaintance 
in 2014.

When the state government's petition seeking confirmation of death sentence was 
taken up by the High Court, Lote's lawyer Yug Chaudhary pointed out certain 
lapses.

In February 2014, the police charge sheeted Lote under IPC sections 363 
(kidnapping), 366 (A) (kidnapping a minor girl with the intent of forcing her 
to have intercourse), 376 (rape) and 302 (murder), Chaudhary said.

Generally, these offences attract life imprisonment or 10 years in jail, and 
death is awarded only in the "rarest of rare cases", he argued.

On September 26, 2016, 2 days before the sentence was passed, the prosecution 
invoked section 376(2) of the IPC (rape of a victim under 12 years of age) and 
provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, making it a 
case fit for death penalty, the lawyer pointed out.

The court should not have permitted amendment of charges just 2 days before the 
verdict, Chaudhary said.

He also argued that Lote did not get proper legal assistance from his lawyers, 
appointed through Legal Aid.

The high court said it could not overlook these procedural lapses and 
especially the fact that 2 key charges were pressed only 2 days before the 
verdict.

It, however, refused to acquit Lote, and said instead the trial court must 
consider Lote as an undertrial and reexamine the proceedings.

(source: business-standard.com)

*********************

1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict dies in Nagpur jail



Abdul Gani Turk (68), convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, Thursday died 
at Nagpur Central jail where he was lodged after his conviction.

The special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court 
Judge Pramod Dattatraya Kode awarded him capital punishment after finding him 
guilty of planting a bomb at Century Bazaar.

Turk, a former employee of prime absconding accused Tiger Memon, was awarded 
capital punishment for parking a jeep filled with RDX at Century Bazaar in 
Worli. This blast caused the maximum fatalities – 113 – and injured 227 people.

Later, the Supreme Court commuted Turk’s death penalty to life sentence and 
then he was shifted to Nagpur jail in 2012.

According to Nagpur jail superintendent Rani Bhosle, Turk was not keeping well 
for some time and was taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital 
(GMCH) here on April 22. Later, he was brought back and treated at the prison 
hospital. He fell unconscious Thursday morning and was rushed to the GMCH where 
he was declared dead around 12.45 pm.

Turk had suffered a paralytic attack last year. The cause of death will be 
known after the autopsy report is available, the superintendent added.

Actor Sanjay Dutt was among those convicted in this case though he was 
acquitted from the charges of TADA and convicted under the Arms Act. The serial 
blasts killed 257 people and injured hundreds more.

The court convicted a total 100 persons in this case, of whom, 3 were sentenced 
to death and 14 others to life imprisonment.

Though the apex court commuted the death sentence of other accused, the death 
sentence of Yakub Memon, brother of prime accused Tiger Memon, was upheld and 
he was executed.

(source: The Asian Age)

************************

In death row----The Death Penalty India Report comes as a rude shock. 
Principles of custodial care remain theoretical for the death-row prisoners, 
although it is obligatory for the police to take care of their well-being and 
health. It is fervently to be hoped that the findings of the report will prompt 
the prison administrators and policy makers to sit up and take notice and thus 
effect meaningful interventions to ensure the right of the undertrials to have 
an effective justice delivery system in the country



Prison administration is integral to our justice delivery system which, many 
feel, calls for an urgent review. In India, the system has been unchanged since 
its inception though a change in nomenclature has been effected. Our prisons 
are no longer called ‘jails’ and have been rechristened as correctional homes 
in keeping with the changed ethos. Although the prison infrastructure has 
improved drastically over the years, we still have a long way to go as far as 
treatment of the inmates is concerned. A recent study titled “The Death Penalty 
Research Project” doesn’t inspire optimism. Researchers at Delhi’s National Law 
University (NLU) in a comprehensive study of the socio-economic profile of 
prisoners on death row, have found that most of them belong to economically 
vulnerable sections, backward communities and religious minority groups. Prison 
administration contends with fundamental flaws.

The death penalty is aimed at systemic marginalization of prisoners from 
vulnerable backgrounds. Over half of those who have been sentenced to death had 
worked in the unorganised sector as auto-drivers, brick kiln labourers, street 
vendors, manual scavengers, domestic and construction workers. About 19 % of 
those on death row had only attended primary school. The prisoners were 
disadvantaged on 2 counts; 9 out of 10 who had never attended a school were 
also economically vulnerable. This is important because a prisoner’s economic 
status and level of education directly affects his ability to effectively 
participate in the criminal justice system and thus secure a fair trial.

Delineating their socio-economic background, the report noted that more than 80 
% of the prisoners facing capital punishment never completed their schooling 
and nearly 1/2 of them had started working before they became major. Moreover, 
around 25 % of the convicts were juveniles between the ages of 18 and 21 or 
above 60 years when the crime was committed. Among those facing death penalty, 
Dalits and tribals constituted 24.5 % while over 20 % belonged to religious 
minorities.

Indians belonging to the economically backward and vulnerable sections have 
found it difficult to bear the burden imposed by our criminal justice system 
while handing out death sentences. The penalty can disproportionately affect 
those who have the least capabilities to negotiate our criminal justice system. 
As regards the right to be present at one’s own trial to defend oneself, only 1 
out of the 4 interviewed had attended all the hearings.

Some prisoners would merely be taken to the court premises by the police and 
then confined to a lock-up without ever being produced in the courtroom. Out of 
189 prisoners, 169 did not have a lawyer.

According to rules, a person who is arrested has to be informed about the 
reason for the arrest. However, 136 prisoners said they were taken away to 
‘sign papers’ and were never allowed to go home again. Besides, 166 prisoners 
were not produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest as is 
mandatory.

Weeks and months passed before they were presented in court. As often as not, 
it was only then that the arrest was recorded. They were often tortured during 
the interim period. Out of 92 prisoners who had confessed in police custody, 72 
had made statements under torture.

Death-row prisoners were often kept locked while the trial proceeded to ensure 
that they would not be in a position to follow the proceedings of the trial. 
Even when prisoners were present in court, the report says, “the very 
architecture of several trial courts often prevents any real chance of the 
accused participating in their own trial.”

The accused were often confined to the rear of the courtroom while proceedings 
between the judge and the lawyers took place in the front. A person charged 
with a crime has the right to an interpreter and to translated documents if he 
or she does not understand the language used in court. But this requirement is 
seldom met. Over 1/2 the prisoners interviewed said they did not understand the 
proceedings at all either because of the obstructive court architecture or the 
language used (often English).

The accused has the right to challenge evidence produced against them. In 
India, trial courts can question the accused directly at any stage, and the 
Supreme Court has ruled that the accused persons must be questioned separately 
about every material circumstance to be used against them, in a form they can 
understand.

The study found that these provisions were routinely dishonoured. Over 60 % of 
the prisoners interviewed said they were only asked to give yes/no responses 
during their trials, with no meaningful opportunity to explain themselves. 
Seven out of ten prisoners complained that their lawyers did not discuss case 
details with them.

Almost 77 % never met their lawyers outside court, and the interaction inside 
the court was perfunctory. Many of the prisoners preferred to engage private 
lawyers despite the economic handicap because of the putative incompetence of 
the underpaid legal aid lawyers. Higher the courts, lesser the information 
prisoners receive about their cases. It is not just the death-row prisoners who 
have to contend with such violation of rules. There is still no exhaustive list 
of offences punishable by death. 59 sections in 18 central laws, including 12 
sections under the Indian Penal Code, including both homicide and non-homicide 
offences, carry the death penalty. Provisions under provincial legislation are 
separate, and have not yet been put together in a list.

The constitutionality of death sentence was last upheld in May 1980 by the 
Supreme Court. However, the apex court ruled that the same should be imposed 
only in the ‘rarest of the rare’ cases. Surprisingly, most prisoners sentenced 
to death are not eventually executed. Less than 5 % have actually been 
executed. In most of the cases, their death sentences were commuted by the 
higher courts following appeals. The findings do not suggest that the state 
authorities intentionally discriminate against poor or less educated prisoners. 
But the report does allege that the system is so loaded that there is a degree 
of indirect discrimination at work which worsens the chances of fair trial for 
prisoners from disadvantaged backgrounds. Yet issues pertaining to fair trial 
and treatment of prisoners on death row by the criminal justice system are 
almost never discussed with the required seriousness. Indirect discrimination 
happens against such prisoners when a seemingly impartial and innocuous 
practice impacts particular groups negatively, even if it is not purposely 
directed at the groups. But given the irreversible nature of the death penalty, 
it is particularly important that fair trial rights are scrupulously 
safeguarded in such cases.

International human rights discourse agrees that every death sentence that is 
imposed after an unfair trial violates the right to life. The Law Commission of 
India, in one of its reports, recommended the abolition of the death penalty in 
phases, beginning with ending it for all offences except those related to 
terrorism. The Death Penalty India Report comes as a rude shock. Principles of 
custodial care remain theoretical for the death row prisoners, although it is 
obligatory for the police to take care of their well-being and health. It is 
fervently to be hoped that the findings of the report will prompt the prison 
administrators and policy makers to sit up and take notice and thus effect 
meaningful interventions to ensure the right of the undertrials to have an 
effective justice delivery system in the country.

[The writer is an IAS officer, presently posted as the Commissioner of School 
Education, West Bengal. The views are personal and don’t reflect those of the 
Government]

(source: Opinion; Saumitra Mohan, The Statesman)








GHANA:

African Court dismisses case against Ghana



The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has dismissed a human rights 
appeal brought against the country, by one Dexter Eddie Johnson who was 
convicted and sentenced to death for murder and currently on death row awaiting 
execution.

The African Court in its ruling on March 28 obtained by the Ghana News Agency 
said the Application does not fulfil the admissibility requirement under 
Article 56 (7) of the African Charter, which is also reflected in Rule 4O (7) 
of the court’s rules.

The African Court recalls that the conditions of admissibility under Article 56 
of the Charter are cumulative and as such, when one of them is not met, then 
the entire application must fail.

“ln the instant case, since the application does not meet the requirement set 
forth in Article 56 (7) of the Charter; the Court dismissed the application as 
inadmissible.

The African Court was composed of: Justice Sylvain Ore, President; Justice Ben 
Kioko, Vice-President; Justice Rafad Ben Achour; Justice Angelo V. Matusse; 
Justice Suzanne Mengue; Justice Tujilane R. Chizumila; Justice Chafika 
Bensaoula; Justice Blaise Tchikaya; Justice Stella I. Anukam; and Justice Imani 
D. Aboud.

Dexter Eddie Johnson was represented by Saul Lehrfreund, Co-Executive Director, 
The Death Penalty Project.

Ghana was represented by Miss Gloria Afua Akuffo, Attorney General and Minister 
of Justice; Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister 
of Justice; Mrs Helen A. A. Ziwu, Solicitor General; and Mrs Yvonne Atakora 
Obuobisa, Director of Public Prosecutions.

According to the facts of the case, Johnson holds a dual nationality of Ghana 
and Great Britain.

He was convicted and sentenced to death on June 18, 2008 by a Fast Track High 
Court in Accra for the murder of an American national on May 27, 2OO4, at a 
village near Ningo in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

The was brought to trial where he denied the offence but after a full trial, he 
was convicted and sentenced accordingly.

The applicant appealed against his conviction and sentence at the Court of 
Appeal, arguing that while the death penalty per se is authorised by Article 
13(1) of the Constitution of Ghana, the mandatory imposition of the death 
sentence, on which the Constitution was silent, was unconstitutional.

He asserts that the mandatory death penalty violates the right not to be 
subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, the right not to be 
arbitrarily deprived of life and the right to a fair trial, all of which are 
protected by the 1992 Constitution.

However on July 16, 2009, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal both on the 
conviction and sentence but the applicant further pursued his appeal against at 
the Supreme Court and on March 16, 2011 his appeal was, again, dismissed.

Subsequently, in December 2011 and April 2012, respectively, the applicant made 
two clemency petitions to the President of Ghana.

Now in July 2012, the applicant filed a communication to the United Nations 
Human Rights Committee (HRC) under the First Optional Protocol to the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

On March 27, 2014, the HRC found, in its views, that since the only punishment 
for murder under Ghanaian law was the death penalty, the courts had no 
discretion but to impose the only sentence permitted by law.

(source: Ghana News Agency)








UGANDA:

Museveni Considers Firing Squad As Gen Muntu Launches New Party



Express death is being contemplated as the only possible method to contain the 
ruthless murders in Uganda.

President Yoweri Museveni hinted on the possibility of reintroducing death 
sentence while at the funeral of Doctor Catherine Agaba who was strangled by a 
guard from a private security firm manning her home.

“…A young girl with so much potential to the country, murdered by a criminal 
asikari. Such a criminal should not have the luxury of going to prison,” 
Museveni threatened.

He said that death sentence was very effective when his rebel group captured 
power in 1986.

“We made some alterations to some of the punishment methods in dealing with 
Wanainchi. The death penalty was one such alteration. However, over time, it is 
clearer that we need to amend the law.”

Meanwhile, the threats to return the death sentence come at a time opposition 
politicians are repeatedly engaged in running battles with the police amidst 
growing insecurity in the east African country.

Major General Mugisha Muntu one of first Army commanders to serve under 
Museveni’s government has finally registered a political party – the Alliance 
For National Transformation Party and says he is determined to dislodge his 
former boss from Uganda’s biggest job.

“We have often been asked what we were doing: tasked to show publicly, our 
actions for change. But progress isn’t always measured by the amount of 
coverage it receives but by the hard work put in, often in private. Today we 
received our certificate of registration as a party.”

(source: taarifa.rw)








SOUTH AFRICA:

It's clear: South Africans want capital punishment - ATM President



Fledgling political party the African Transformation Movement (ATM) has 
promised to reintroduce capital punishment should it be elected into power 
after South Africans go to the polls on May 8.

Its president, Vuyolwethu Zungula, speaking to News24 during an interview, said 
that South Africans had marched, held summits and numerous meetings regarding 
escalating levels of violence in the country, but only strong legislation would 
be able to curb acts of violence.

Zungula said only "justice-based" capital punishment would solve South Africa's 
challenge with violence, especially against those who perpetuate it against 
women and children.

"All serial murderers and serial rapists will get to pay for what they are 
doing - with their lives. We can't have South Africans living in fear," he 
said.

Zungula was quick to add that his party would not impose the death penalty if 
it wins a majority in next month's polls but would seek to give South Africans 
the opportunity to change legislation if this was what they wanted.

He also insisted that based on incidents of mob justice in the country, it was 
clear to him that South Africans were agitating for the return of capital 
punishment.

"Look at the increase of mob justice. That's people saying part of the 
punishment that must be given to criminals is that they must pay with their 
lives."

Zungula claimed that close to 500 people died in the past year.

He cited social media comments on some of the high-profile killings that have 
caught the country's attention, including the February murder of Thoriso 
Themane in Limpopo, as signs that people are in favour of the death penalty.

"When people communicate with government, sometimes they write petitions, they 
will go on TV. At times people speak with action, when they are violent in 
dealing with crime, it's another expression of what they think needs to be 
done," explained Zungula.

(source: news24.com)








NIGERIA:

Amnesty Begs Akeredolu Not To Endorse Execution Of Death-Row Inmates in Ondo



“Amnesty International is extremely concerned that executions may resume in 
Nigeria. On 27 March 2019, the press reported that the Ondo State Attorney 
General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adekola Olawoye, stated that the Ondo 
State Governor will commence the signing of execution warrants. Since the 
declaration was made Amnesty International has received a report that the Ondo 
State Governor may have signed executions warrant."

Human rights organisation Amnesty International has warned Rotimi Akeredolu, 
Governor of Ondo State, not to authorize the execution of any death-row 
prisoner.

Amnesty made the call in in a statement signed by its country Director, Osai 
Ojigho.

The statement reads: “The Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, must not 
authorize the execution of any death-row prisoner and if he has already 
authorised executions must immediately revoke it.

“Amnesty International is extremely concerned that executions may resume in 
Nigeria. On 27 March 2019, the press reported that the Ondo State Attorney 
General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adekola Olawoye, stated that the Ondo 
State Governor will commence the signing of execution warrants. Since the 
declaration was made Amnesty International has received a report that the Ondo 
State Governor may have signed executions warrant.

“Governor Rotimi Akeredolu must recognize that the death penalty is a cruel 
punishment that has no place in the 21st century and we ask him to respect the 
right to life.

“No matter what the crime is, who the prisoner is, or the method of execution 
used, nothing can justify the deliberate taking of human life by the 
government. There is no convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime 
better than imprisonment, therefore the death penalty is an ineffective 
punishment. The possible resumption of execution in Nigeria will constitute a 
setback for the country and it should be avoided, particularly as the world is 
moving away from the use of the death penalty.

“The last time Nigeria carried out an execution was in December 2016 when 3 men 
were executed in Benin city prison. Of the over 2,000 people on death row in 
Nigerian prisons, those who have exhausted their right of appeal are at risk of 
execution and could be executed as soon as a state governor authorises their 
death warrants. Since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999, most state 
governors have not signed execution warrants.

“Amnesty International is calling on Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to commute all 
death sentences issued in Ondo State to prison terms; make a public commitment 
that he would not authorize the execution of any prisoner; and take immediate 
steps to abolish the death penalty for all crimes in Ondo State."

(source: Sahara Reporters)